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On Sept. 6, the House of Representatives approved nearly $8 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief funds Wednesday in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the first of several expected installments to aid recovery in areas devastated by the massive storm.
In August, President Trump signed an executive order that he said would streamline the approval process for building infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and offices by eliminating a planning step related to climate change and flood dangers. The executive order revokes an earlier executive order by former President Obama that required recipients of federal funds to strongly consider risk-management standards when building in flood zones, including measures such as elevating structures from the reach of rising water.
On July 25, the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Appropriations Subcommittee advanced its FY 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill. The committee voted to approve the bill by a vote of 31 to 0. The bill includes a $1.4 billion increase in funding for HUD over FY 2017. And it sets the stage for a bipartisan budget deal.
On July 14, a group of Senate Republicans led by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) sent a letter to Secretary Carson asking him to rescind HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. The rule requires cities and towns that receive federal funding to examine their local housing patterns for racial bias and to design a plan to address any measurable bias. The letter claims that the rule would “extend the reach of the federal government beyond its authority and could take away state and local governments’ ability to make local zoning decisions.”
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report entitled, “Federal Low-Income Programs: Eligibility and Benefits Differ for Selected Programs Due to Complex and Varied Rules.” It compares the eligibility criteria and benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid, Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
By voice vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed several of President Trump’s nominees for key HUD positions. Neal Rackleff, for HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, and Anna Farias, for HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, were confirmed. Mr. Rackleff, an attorney working in private practice, previously headed the City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department, where he administered HOME, CDBG, and other programs that HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) oversees. And Ms.
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) recently released “The State of the Nation’s Housing” report for 2017. The data shows that renters are continuing to experience affordability challenges and that construction hasn’t been keeping pace with demand for affordable housing.
In response to HUD’s recent decision to remove resources for members of the LGBTQ community from its website, a group of 29 Senate Democrats sent a letter to HUD’s Secretary Ben Carson urging him to protect members of the LGBTQ community from housing discrimination.
The ranking member of the committee on financial services, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), recently introduced the Public Housing Tenant Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2017. Its goal is to preserve public housing, increase tenant protections, and provide additional funds to address the significant backlog of capital needs. If passed, the bill would require replacing demolished or sold public housing units on a one-for-one basis, reinstating a provision that Congress eliminated in 1995.
HUD and Japan have formally agreed to work cooperatively on researching innovated approaches to housing both nations’ vulnerable senior population. “Our nations have much to learn from each other, and we recognize that our strength is measured by our regard, respect, and care of the elderly,” said HUD Secretary Carson. “Working together, the U.S. and Japan will combine our strengths to find new and innovative approaches to housing our older citizens.”
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